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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088373">When All Through The House...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/a2h1ey/pseuds/a2h1ey'>a2h1ey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>WinterIron Week (Dec. 2020) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Fluff, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, They've been through a rough time, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Recovering, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Tony Stark, a bit of introspection, but they have each other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:53:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/a2h1ey/pseuds/a2h1ey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was quiet; all of the lights were off, everyone was in their rooms or out for the night, and only the soft lights of the city below that made it past the gently drifting snow lit up the dark room.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes &amp; Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>WinterIron Week (Dec. 2020) [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056809</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>WinterIron Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When All Through The House...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Day 2 of WinerIron Week!<br/>Day 2: Tuesday<br/><s>Assassin</s> (Again, kind of, though?) | <s>"He’s a ghost story”</s> | Recovery</p><p>This is a bit different than what I usually write, not to mention a good deal shorter, but I got inspired by one of my favorite Christmas poems (*wink wink nudge nudge*) and... I kind of like how it turned out? I promise it's mostly just fluff and feels. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was quiet; all of the lights were off, everyone was in their rooms or out for the night, and only the soft lights of the city below that made it past the gently drifting snow lit up the dark room. </p><p>It was late December, almost Christmas and New Years, he was told - <em>flashes of an old man and woman, smiling warmly at him as he helps decorate the massive tree, flashes of another woman, the feeling of longing as he watches her walk through the door with a suitcase without a glance back, and flashes of a man with glass of whiskey and fear and </em>hurting… - but that meant little to him, beyond the memories he could barely grasp before they were gone again.</p><p>Tony -<em> his name was Anthony he’s been told, but it brought flashes of pain and fear and wrongness, and there were flashes of being called ‘Tony’ from different mouths and voices which felt </em>right<em>, so Tony he would be </em>- watched, eyes on the snow as it fell; watching as a few stuck to the window, allowing him a clear view of their unique and beautiful patterns, before slowly melting away into tiny water droplets from the warmth of the Tower.</p><p>He didn’t look up when the footsteps approached from the stairwell, didn’t look up when they ended next to him. They were almost silent, too quiet for normal ears to hear, but Tony wasn’t normal and neither was the person whose feet the footsteps belonged to, and he would recognize them anywhere.</p><p>In a Tower full of people he was still getting used to, they were <em>both </em>getting used to, there was no one in the entire world Tony trusted more; even the <em>flashes of an older man with wrinkles and a warm smile and a younger man with dark skin and warm hugs </em>couldn’t compare to the trust by <em>fire and pain</em> he and the man now sitting next to him had. </p><p>He hesitates only for a moment before scooching just a little closer, enough for their knees to barely brush.</p><p>They were allowed to touch, here, in this strange, wondrous place, but it still felt like a violation to do it somewhere so open.</p><p>A careful hand, one of metal that Tony knows more intimately than his own, having worked on it for… a long time -<em> flashes of wonder even while scared at meeting a man with a metal arm for the first time, before the lightning harsh pain took away </em>everything - brushes against his own, just the tiniest bit.</p><p>Tony continued to stare at the snow. Held a silent breath as he gently moved his hand closer, till warm flesh and cool metal overlapped.</p><p>Letting the breath out when metallic fingers curled around his own. </p><p>He rarely ever felt settled, was almost impossible to with his guard always up, always <em>ready</em>, but sitting there, relatively safe and warm and with the one person he trusted most - <em>flashes of mismatched arms holding him close when they could steal moments during long missions, of steely eyes on an otherwise blank face softening just the tiniest fraction when they met his own </em>- he felt at peace.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's supposed to be purposefully vague since Post-WS!Tony is the PoV, but... hopefully it made sense? I tried.</p><p>Honestly, this fic took a mind of it's own, and totally not what I was gonna write. Kind of like it, anyways.</p><p>Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed? And stay safe out there this holiday season! &lt;3</p><p>(Also, to anyone who caught the title: y'all deserve milk and cookies. ;3)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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